Flax is an economic crop with a long history. It is grown worldwide and is mainly used for edible oil, industry, and textiles. Here, we reported a high-quality genome assembly for “Neiya No. 9”, a popular variety widely grown in China. Combining PacBio long reads, Hi-C sequencing, and a genetic map reported previously, a genome assembly of 473.55 Mb was constructed, which covers ~94.7% of the flax genome. These sequences were anchored onto 15 chromosomes. The N50 lengths of the contig and scaffold were 0.91 Mb and 31.72 Mb, respectively. A total of 32,786 protein-coding genes were annotated, and 95.9% of complete BUSCOs were found. Through morphological and cytological observation, the male sterility of flax was considered dominant nuclear sterility. Through GWAS analysis, the gene LUSG00017705 (cysteine synthase gene) was found to be closest to the most significant SNP, and the expression level of this gene was significantly lower in male sterile plants than in fertile plants. Among the significant SNPs identified in the GWAS analysis, only two were located in the coding region, and these two SNPs caused changes in the protein encoded by LUSG00017565 (cysteine protease gene). It was speculated that these two genes may be related to male sterility in flax. This is the first time the molecular mechanism of male sterility in flax has been reported. The high-quality genome assembly and the male sterility genes revealed, provided a solid foundation for flax breeding.

In this study, C. esculentus porous starch (PS) and C. esculentus cross-linked porous starch (CPS) were prepared by enzymatic modification and sodium phytate cross-linking, and their physicochemical and structural properties were determined. The results showed that the adsorption and emulsification capacities of PS were 1.3606 g/g and 22.6 mL/g, respectively, which were significantly higher than 0.5419 g/g and 4.2 mL/g of C. esculentus starch (NS). The retrogradation curves of starch paste showed that the stability of PS was inferior to that of NS. In addition, the results of texture analysis showed that the gel strength of PS was also significantly reduced relative to NS. The PS exhibited a rough surface with pores and low molecular order and crystallinity according to scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X ray diffractometer (XRD) analyses. As compared to PS, CPS still presented a high adsorption capacity of 1.2744 g/g and the steadiness of starch paste was significantly better. XPS demonstrated the occurrence of the cross-linking reaction. Our results show that enzyme modification and dual modification by combining enzymatic treatment with sodium phytate cross-linking can impart different structures and functions to starch, creating reference material for the application of modified starch from C. esculentus.

Background: Tissue heterogeneity significantly influences the overall saccharification efficiency of plant biomass. However, the mechanisms of specific organ or tissue recalcitrance to enzymatic deconstruction are generally complicated and unclear. A multidimensional analysis of the anatomical fraction from 12 corn cultivars was conducted to understand the essence of recalcitrance. Results: The results showed that leaf, leaf sheath, stem pith and stem rind of corn straw exhibited remarkable heterogeneity in chemical composition, physical structure and cell type, which resulted in the different saccharification ratio of cellulose. The high saccharification ratio ranging from 21.47 to 38.96% was in stem pith, whereas the low saccharification ratio ranging from 17.1 to 27.43% was in leaf sheath. High values of lignin, hemicelluloses, degree of polymerization and crystallinity index were critical for the increased recalcitrance, while high value of neutral detergent soluble and pore size generated weak recalcitrance. Interestingly, pore traits of cell wall, especial for microcosmic interface structure, seemed to be a crucial factor that correlated to cellulase adsorption and further affected saccharification. Conclusions: Highly heterogeneity in cell wall traits influenced the overall saccharification efficiency of biomass. Furthermore, the holistic outlook of cell wall interface was indispensable to understand the recalcitrance and promote the biomass conversion. Graphic

Aiming at the problems of serious soil desertification and continuous reduction of effective soil nutrients in the agricultural and animal husbandry interlaced arid area in Inner Mongolia, this study used Aohan alfalfa, old awn wheat, and fodder oats at the Siziwang Banner, Ulanchabu City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. There were a total of five treatments, namely, single seeding alfalfa, single seeding old awn wheat, single seeding fodder oats, alfalfa and old awn wheat mixed sowing, and control. The results showed that the urease activity and microbial biomass nitrogen content of mixed planting were higher than other treatments. With the advancement of the growth period, the bacteria α-diversity index showed an upward trend; β-diversity analysis showed that planting method was the main factor affecting bacteria diversity and sampling time was the main factor affecting fungi diversity. In summary, mixed planting treatment was more helpful to improve soil enzyme activity, microbial biomass, and enrich soil microbial diversity, which was of great significance to maintain the balance of soil ecosystem. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the theoretical basis and practical experiences for efficient utilization of microbial resources in the field of soil improvement.

Aiming at the problems of serious soil desertification, increased soil and water loss, and reduced soil-available nutrients in the agro-pastoral ecotone in Northeast Inner Mongolia, this study took corn variety A6565 as the planting crop and analyzed seven different tillage measures, deep tillage, deep loosening, shallow tillage, rotary tillage, heavy harrow, no-tillage, and control, combined with straw returning at an experimental field in Arong Banner. The analysis results are as follows: the urease activity and microbial biomass nitrogen content of the tillage method combined with straw-returning treatment were higher than other treatments. Compared with the seedling stage, the alpha diversity index of bacteria increased in the harvest stage, while that of fungi was the opposite. β diversity comparison showed that sampling time was the main factor affecting the bacterial community and composition. It was found that the dominant bacteria were Proteobacteria and Actinomycetes, and the dominant fungus was Ascomycetes. Conservation tillage combined with straw-returning treatment has a positive impact on soil microbial diversity, which is more helpful for improving soil-available nutrients and soil quality. All the findings in this study may contribute to restricting a series of important factors affecting sustainable agricultural development, such as soil degradation.